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Introduction to Linux - A Hands on Guide

This guide was created as an overview of the Linux Operating System, geared toward new users as an exploration tour and getting started guide, with exercises at the end of each chapter.
For more advanced trainees it can be a desktop reference, and a collection of the base knowledge needed to proceed with system and network administration. This book contains many real life examples derived from the author's experience as a Linux system and network administrator, trainer and consultant. They hope these examples will help you to get a better understanding of the Linux system and that you feel encouraged to try out things on your own.

I was talking to a guy who deploys systems for hotels high speed internet. He told me they deploy a Linux gatways. When you plug in your laptop in, weather you have your computer with a static ip from another isp or if you have ppoe or any other high speed connection the server forces it’s ip mask and gateway giving you the internet. You just plug it in and you are online. When you unplug all you old high speed settings are restored. He was not a tec so he couldn’t tell me how or what the software was. Have any of you herd of software that will do this.

If I had a a static IP setup and an DHCP server was able to orverride that setting I'd be rightly miffed. I could understand if the machine was setup as a simple DHCP client that this scenario would work (as it would for most users), but you do need an active DHCP client to start the negotiation for a DHCP lease and a static I P setup should not do that.

When you go to many hotels that have high speed internet that is how it works. If you are the hotel manager it would stop all the calls to the front desk would get about connecting to the internet. Wouldn’t you hate to get rid of all you static ip information if you had that kind of internet and wanted to use a hotel high speed connection. You just plug in get the net unplug go home and no changes need to get back on your home line. I don’t think you would be that miffed would you.

mcleodnine:
Hmm you have me a bit confused. Are you telling me my current Linux DHCP can do this and the setting just has to be enabled.

Hmm now that I think about it I wouldn’t want me to force ip information to my computer either. But then most people don’t know what dhcp is so they won’t mind. They will just be glat not to have dile up and have to call tec support. hehehe

I do technical support for 3 fairly big WIFI ISP's and we use IP3, nomadix, and Cisco hardware. Along with a special version of OPENBSD customized by this WIFI ISP.

I can tell you that none of these machine support a forced DHCP assignment. It violates the RFC on DHCP and IP. What I could see happening though is some really neat dynamic routing and arpping controls.

Somethings I can tell you some people get on without a problem. Some people don't and have to call us. You will find most hotel frontdesks are staffed by pretty faces and not computer people. I've had calls from people who can figure out the hotel's ISP is down to people who can't even plug in cables or figure out if they have a cat 5 jack in there laptops.

I can tell you that if a technology that forced ip address on clients machines existed that would be wonderfull as it would stop all the problems we have welcha and blaster killing our networks with ICMP traffic.

Upon reading that link for a suggested RFC you've provided I can say that a clients computer must at the very minimum be set to DHCP for that to work. But its practicle purpose is to ensure the clients computer takes the lease assigned by the hotel's dhcp server. In most cases this already happens but in some stuborn clients (non patched version of Windows 9X) this is not always the case as we have one hotel that uses a dlink router that guest always get the wrong ip address and try to browse the web with.

Originally posted by mcleodnine Right. But it was the Brute Force comment that stuck in my craw

It is possible for a DHCP server to assign gateway, DNS servers, hostnames in addition to the IP address. Whether or not they client machines accept and use them is a totally different story. Most Windows systems using DHCP will use whatever info is passed to them unless configured otherwise. Most other operating systems have "override DHCP" options.

I will find out for sour how it all works. Our company’s are partnering up to work on a large project. He may misunderstand how it works. But I will find out what they are running that will do this and post it.